THE 2010 ARKANSAS NEW PLAY FESTFeaturing Four New Plays, the Young Playwrights Showcase, And The 24-Hour Play-Off — May 21–23, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE, AR—April 20, 2010—TheatreSquared announced today the lineup for the second annual Arkansas New Play Fest, a celebration of new works by emerging playwrights. The festival will feature staged reading performances of new plays and, in its fourth year, the Northwest Arkansas 24-Hour Play-Off, a marathon competition awarding a $1,000 Jury Prize. The new play lineup includes: The Fall of the House by Robert Ford; Dream Date by Dan Borengasser; Tell Martha Not to Moan by Clinnesha D. Sibley; and, in a new revision, Sundown Town, a play with music in two acts by Kevin D. Cohea. The festival will also feature the Arkansas Young Playwrights Showcase, with readings of five student short plays integrating sustainable themes as part of Walton Arts Center’s Artosphere Festival. Tickets are $7 (one staged reading performance), $10 (24 Hour Play-Off), and $25 (Festival Pass), and are available at theatresquared.org. All events take place at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios:

Friday, May 21

5:15pm – Opening Reception6:00pm – Dream Date by Dan Borengasser8:00pm – The Fall of the House by Robert Ford

“For the second year, we’re thrilled to bring new works, in raw theatrical form, to Northwest Arkansas,” said TheatreSquared Artistic Director Robert Ford. “Each script is rehearsed by professional artists and performed, script in hand, for the public and playwright. At each performance, an open discussion with audience, author and cast profoundly shapes the future development of the script.”

Dream Date, by Dan Borengasser, begins with a man and a woman at a table on an empty stage—but who are they, what do they want, and what’s their relationship? In this clever and delightfully confusing new comedy, the characters know just as much about their given circumstances as the audience. Directed by T2 co-founder Morgan Hicks and performed Friday, May 21 at 6:00pm.

The Fall of the House, an unpublished work by Robert Ford, has been in development for over a decade and was recently produced by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. This time- and mind-bending play brings together magic, betrayal, forbidden love, tragic accidents, secret documents and familial bonds spanning from the last years of Edgar Allan Poe to the present. Directed by T2 Associate Artistic Director Amy Herzberg and performed Friday, May 21, at 8:00pm.

Tell Martha Not to Moan, by Clinnesha D. Sibley, takes place in a family home in Detroit, 2007. As the presidential election campaign plays out on the national stage and the 40th Commemoration of the Detroit Riot is marked, a series of flashbacks brings us back to a different era. With compelling dialogue and complex relationships, Tell Martha Not to Moan is a glimpse into the changing world as viewed from one African American home. Directed by Janet Cleveland, winner of the Detroit Free Press Best Director Award, and performed Saturday, May 22 at 6:00pm.

Sundown Town, by Kevin D. Cohea, returns to the Arkansas New Play Fest for a second year of continued development. Commissioned by TheatreSquared, the play is the story of a small town in Arkansas in 1918 where tourists and churchgoers are welcome, but African Americans must leave before dark. An involving and energetic theatrical fable, Sundown Town interweaves more than a dozen traditional gospel and bluegrass songs with rich storytelling. Directed by Kevin Christopher Fox (“Sterling” in TheatreSquared’s Mauritius, 2010) and performed Saturday, May 22 at 8:00pm.

TheatreSquared is partnering with Fayetteville-based Ceramic Cow Productions to present the fourth Northwest Arkansas 24-Hour Play-Off, a perennial favorite for artists and audiences alike. In competition for the $1,000 Jury Prize, teams of five artists will write, rehearse, and perform a new ten-minute play—all within the space of 24 hours. Artists from throughout the region are invited to participate by completing an application at theatresquared.org. The public performance and judging will take place on Sunday, May 23 at 6:00pm.

As part of Walton Arts Center’s Artosphere Festival and in partnership with the University of Arkansas Brown Chair of Literacy, TheatreSquared is proud to present, for the second year, the Arkansas Young Playwrights Showcase. Students from across the region have been invited to submit scripts exploring the importance of the natural world and sustainability in our daily lives. Five will be selected for public readings at the Arkansas New Play Fest. Public readings will take place Saturday, May 22, at 2:00pm.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s professional theatre company, dedicated to creating exceptional theatre and innovative educational programs. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatresquared.org.

###Marketing support for the Arkansas New Play Fest is provided by Fayetteville A&P Commission.The 24-Hour Play-Off Jury Prize is sponsored by C&C Services, LLC.